What is ChatGPT Agent? AI crawler guide
ChatGPT Agent by OpenAI: OpenAI agent used when ChatGPT navigates websites for user-directed tasks. Check its reported user-agent, robots.txt behavior, source, and verification guidance.
OpenAI agent used when ChatGPT navigates websites for user-directed tasks.
What is ChatGPT Agent?
ChatGPT Agent is OpenAI's user-directed web agent. It visits sites to carry out tasks a person requested, rather than crawling broadly for search indexing or model training. OpenAI says every outbound request is signed using HTTP Message Signatures. Authentic requests include Signature, Signature-Input, and a Signature-Agent header set to https://chatgpt.com. That cryptographic proof, not user-agent text alone, is the reliable identity signal.
What it's for
For a site owner, a verified ChatGPT Agent request means a user asked ChatGPT to navigate, read, or act on the site. Treat it like delegated user activity. It is distinct from OAI-SearchBot, which manages ChatGPT search eligibility, GPTBot, which covers training use, and ChatGPT-User, which fetches pages for certain user actions and GPT Actions.
ChatGPT Agent fires when a real user's question pulls in your page. To know how often ChatGPT reaches for your brand at all, track your brand mentions in ChatGPT.
How to handle ChatGPT Agent
Validate the HTTP Message Signature at your edge or use a CDN's verified-bot directory before allowlisting the agent. OpenAI publishes a public key directory and documents Cloudflare detection ID 129220581. Keep normal authentication, authorization, rate limits, and transaction safeguards in place. OpenAI's current allowlisting guide does not state a robots.txt guarantee for ChatGPT Agent, so treat a robots rule as a policy signal rather than the identity or security control.
robots.txt rule
User-agent: ChatGPT Agent Disallow: /
Blocking cost
Blocking verified ChatGPT Agent traffic can prevent users from completing agent tasks on your site. It does not control ChatGPT search indexing or OpenAI training use, which have separate bots.
Examples
- A user asks ChatGPT to summarize a public article, and the agent fetches the page to provide the summary.
- A user instructs ChatGPT to check the current price of a product on an e-commerce site, and the agent visits the product page.
- A user requests ChatGPT to fill out a form on their behalf, and the agent navigates to the form page to attempt the action.
Related bots
- ChatGPT-User: Another OpenAI live fetcher to compare.
- Gemini-Deep-Research: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Google-Gemini-CLI: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- NovaAct: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Meta-ExternalFetcher: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- AmazonBuyForMe: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Claude-Code: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Claude-Web: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- Google-Agent: Also tracked as a live fetcher.
- ChatGPT: ChatGPT Agent gives crawler context for ChatGPT.
- OpenAI: ChatGPT Agent connects this operator term to its crawler behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ChatGPT Agent crawl the web like a search engine bot?
No, ChatGPT Agent does not perform broad crawling. It only visits pages when a user explicitly asks ChatGPT to do something that requires accessing a website, such as retrieving information or completing a task.
How can I tell if a visit is from ChatGPT Agent?
Do not trust user-agent text alone. Validate OpenAI's HTTP Message Signature or use a CDN's verified-bot detection. OpenAI documents Cloudflare detection ID 129220581.
Will blocking ChatGPT Agent affect my site's appearance in ChatGPT answers?
Blocking the agent may prevent user-directed tasks on your site. It does not control ChatGPT search indexing or OpenAI training use, which are handled by OAI-SearchBot and GPTBot.
Does ChatGPT Agent respect robots.txt?
OpenAI's current allowlisting guide does not state a robots.txt guarantee for ChatGPT Agent. Use signed-request verification and enforce access at your edge or application when you need a reliable control.
Is ChatGPT Agent the same as other OpenAI bots?
No, OpenAI operates several bots for different purposes. ChatGPT Agent is specifically used when ChatGPT navigates the web on behalf of a user, while other bots may handle tasks like crawling for search indexing or AI model training.
Data & Sources
- OpenAI documentation - Primary source for ChatGPT Agent crawler details.
- ChatGPT Agent verification: HTTP Message Signatures - OpenAI signs every outbound request. Validate the signature or use a CDN's verified-bot detection instead of trusting the user-agent text alone.